Witnesses recanting a growing problem

On Thursday, Wayne Steinhilber Jr. will almost certainly be sentenced to between five and 25 years in state prison on a first-degree burglary conviction, even though the star witness — the victim — now says he's certain that Steinhilber is not the man who attacked him.

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Posted Oct. 2, 2013 at 2:00 AM

Posted Oct. 2, 2013 at 2:00 AM

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On Thursday, Wayne Steinhilber Jr. will almost certainly be sentenced to between five and 25 years in state prison on a first-degree burglary conviction, even though the star witness — the victim — now says he's certain that Steinhilber is not the man who attacked him.

"It's crazy," Steinhilber said in a phone call from Orange County Jail, where he's been held since Aug. 1, 2012, when Orange County Judge Robert Freehill found him guilty of burglary, attempted robbery and other charges.

District Attorney Frank Phillips said there is corroborating evidence in Steinhilber's case, including a dark-blue sweatshirt with eye holes cut into the hood — just like the victim described — which police found at Steinhilber's home.

This case is unusual because of the number of U-turns by the victim, Dave Pondi of Pine Bush. Pondi testified before the grand jury and at trial that Steinhilber broke into his home on July 11, 2011, and stabbed him in the hand. But in between, he gave Steinhilber's lawyer, Robert Ladanyi, two sworn statements saying his attacker wasn't Steinhilber.

"There's reasonable doubt written all over that," said Steinhilber's father, Wayne Steinhilber Sr.

In a post-verdict hearing on July 29, Pondi stuck to his current story, and said prosecutors threatened him to make him testify against Steinhilber. Freehill ruled Aug. 21 that Pondi's new claims aren't credible. Steinhilber's conviction stands.

"He took the stand and testified that it wasn't me, and it's not credible now?" Steinhilber asked.

Steinhilber and his family are beside themselves. They've come to believe that the police and prosecutors — and maybe the judge — are out to get him.

His mother, Starla Steinhilber, says her son was with her and other relatives the night of the crime. She said his daughter, 8, and son, 6, are suffering, and she can't sleep because of the stress.

"I just don't understand it," she said. "They're doing so wrong against him."

Phillips said witness recantation is a growing problem — locally and nationally. Witnesses get scared or feel pressure to not cooperate. Sometimes they're threatened by defendants or paid to back down.

Another Orange County case, the 1998 rape conviction of Daryl Kelly of Newburgh, has been garnering some attention. The victim, Kelly's daughter, recanted her testimony after trial. After a hearing, the judge found her recantation was not credible.

Kelly has exhausted his appeals. The case is now under independent review, with Phillips' cooperation, by a special committee of the state's District Attorneys Association.

Phillips said he's not legally bound by the committee's findings, but "intelligently, if they say the guy was wrongfully convicted, we're going to take appropriate action."

"We do the best we can, but we're human, not infallible," he said. "You have to do the best you can with the credible evidence."